The ruling on shortening the prayer for a resident who intends to stay for more than four days

Question:
What is the duration for shortening the prayer in Safar?

Answer:
Shortening the prayer does not have a specific duration. However, if a person intends to stay for more than four days, he does not shorten; he completes the prayer, because he has become a resident and takes on the ruling of residents. As long as he has not intended to stay and does not know at what hour he will leave, he shortens the prayer, even if he stays for months. If he stays without intention, merely waiting for something to finish before traveling—where he does not know if it will be today, tomorrow, after a month, or after two months—for example, if he is reviewing a transaction and does not know when it will be finalized, he travels and shortens the prayer, even if he is sitting in a mosque in the town he traveled to. But if he knows that he may stay for four days, he transitions from the status of a traveler to that of a resident, prays the full prayer, and fasts Ramadan. This is the position of the majority of scholars, and it is the correct opinion, if Allah wills.